The IRS is not the same agency we dealt with a decade ago, or even three years ago. The pandemic accelerated operational strain, exposing long-standing infrastructure weaknesses while also prompting overdue investment and modernization. Some areas have improved meaningfully, including digital tools, faster account updates, and improved phone service during filing season. Other areas, however, feel frozen in time. Correspondence units remain slow, backlogs persist, and automated notices often fail to reflect what is actually happening on a taxpayer’s account. This article outlines the practical realities of working with the IRS in 2025, what strategies are working, what remains broken, and how to set clear, healthy expectations so you can deliver results without burning out.
Small Mistakes With Huge Costs for Your Client’s Tax Returns
We’ve all been there. A client walks into your office and, somewhere in the conversation, you realize that a seemingly minor oversight, a missed deadline, a form nobody filed, an election nobody mentioned, has spiraled into a five- or six-figure tax problem. In my years of practice, some of the most expensive mistakes I’ve seen weren’t the result of aggressive planning gone wrong. They were small, quiet errors. The kind that happens when a deadline slips, an election isn’t made, or a form gets overlooked entirely. The tax code is unforgiving in these situations, and the IRS has little sympathy for “I didn’t know.” This article walks through some of the most common, and most costly, small mistakes that can devastate your client’s tax situation, along with practical guidance for avoiding them.
